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Linkages of litter and soil C:N:P stoichiometry with soil microbial resource limitation and community structure in a subtropical broadleaf forest invaded by Moso bamboo

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Abstract

Aims

Invasive plants not only alter aboveground biodiversity but also belowground microbial community composition to facilitate their growth and competitiveness. However, how plant invasion affects soil microbial resource limitation and metabolic activity, and their linkages with litter and soil stoichiometries remain largely unknown.

Methods

We investigated the carbon (C): nitrogen (N): phosphorus (P) stoichiometries of litter, soil, microbe and extracellular enzymes, composition of main microbial groups and substrate utilization rate in a subtropical forest invaded by Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) and those in adjacent broadleaf and mixed bamboo-broadleaf forests.

Results

Bamboo invasion significantly decreased annual litter production, litter C: P and N: P ratios, and soil C:N and C:P ratios, whereas increased microbial biomass C:N and C:P ratios, resulting in decreased C:N and C:P imbalances between soil microorganisms and their resources. Bamboo invasion decreased the N and P acquiring enzymes activities, mitigated the status of microbial N and P limitation as indicated by enzymatic stoichiometry, and caused a higher C use efficiency. Soil microbial community structure was shifted towards a lower fungi: bacteria (F:B) ratio in bamboo forest. Bamboo forest soil showed a lower capacity of microbes to use N-rich resources in comparison to C-rich resources. Structural equation modeling suggested a direct and negative effect of C:N imbalance on microbial N limitation and metabolic capacity.

Conclusions

This study suggests the importance of stoichiometric imbalance between decomposers and their resources in regulating soil microbial community structure and enzyme activities following plant invasion.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the anonymous reviewers for their very valuable comments in improving both the language and scientific quality of the manuscript. This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41977083, 31971631), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Provincial Universities of Zhejiang (2020YQ004), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LY20C160003).

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Author notes

  1. Yingzhi Zhao and Chenfei Liang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin’an, Hangzhou, 311300, China

    Yingzhi Zhao, Chenfei Liang, Shuai Shao, Junhui Chen, Hua Qin & Qiufang Xu

  2. Zhejiang Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center for High-Efficiency Utilization of Bamboo Resources, Zhejiang A&F University, Lin’an, Hangzhou, 311300, China

    Chenfei Liang, Shuai Shao, Junhui Chen, Hua Qin & Qiufang Xu

Authors
  1. Yingzhi Zhao
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  2. Chenfei Liang
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  3. Shuai Shao
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  4. Junhui Chen
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  5. Hua Qin
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  6. Qiufang Xu
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Correspondence to Junhui Chen or Hua Qin.

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Highlights

1. Bamboo invasion changed litter and soil stoichiometries in a broadleaf forest.

2. Bamboo invasion mitigated microbial N and P limitation and increased CUE.

3. Bamboo invasion changed composition of main microbial groups and activity.

4. Mitigated N and P limitation was closely linked with litter and soil quality.

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Zhao, Y., Liang, C., Shao, S. et al. Linkages of litter and soil C:N:P stoichiometry with soil microbial resource limitation and community structure in a subtropical broadleaf forest invaded by Moso bamboo. Plant Soil 465, 473–490 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05028-2

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